The problem with Pravin, who has suggested this week’s topic, is that he is very much younger than I am and his touch with Behavioural Science is of a more recent origin than mine. I acquired my Masters degree in Management over fifty years ago whereas Pravin did just six years ago. He has also had some serious human behaviour problems to handle in his young years, which he did with aplomb. I may however be quite a bit off the mark in offering my take, from what Pravin would expect me to come up with.
Human behaviour, in my not so humble opinion can be explained in one word. Unpredictable. No science would ever be able to come up with solutions for such unpredictability, but the student would be able to simply identify the possible cause for such behaviour.
There was a period of time in my past, well after I had formally studied Behavioural Science, when I studied human behaviour with a great deal of vigour as I was in the rat race and felt that such a study would help me deal with such unpredictability. Among the most useful books that I studied and which helped me somewhat were three notable ones starting with The Anatomy Of Power by J K Galbraith; I Am Ok You Are Ok by T A Harris and and Games People Play by Eric Berne.
These books helped, but only to a limited extent because by nature human beings behave in unpredictable ways. So, I gave up trying to understand and come up with strategies to handle behaviour, and accepted whatever came my way but behaved in the way that I felt, rather than thought as being appropriate for the occasion. By and large that strategy has worked and I have not had any major hiccups in my interpersonal relationships including some very unpleasant ones which I survived.
I continue to use the same strategy and am quite comfortable with the results that I experience.
Pravin has suggested this week’s topic. You can see what the other writers of the LBC have to say in their respective blogs. Maria, Pravin, Ashok and Shackman.